Octopus tree

The spiny “octopuses” of southern Madagascar form an otherworldly forest through which dancing sifakas leap.

Didierea madagascariensis is a spiny, succulent shrub or small tree growing to 4–6 m, with several grey, upward-curving stems that resemble an octopus’s tentacles. The stems are densely covered in long thorns, between which small, narrow leaves appear in the rainy season and are shed in the dry season. It belongs to the Didiereaceae family, found almost exclusively in Madagascar. It grows in the so-called spiny forest, in the driest part of the island, where rain falls only a few times a year.

Significance in the country

The spiny forest of didiereas and alluaudias is one of the most unusual plant formations in the world and is regarded as a symbol of southern Madagascar. Sifaka lemurs leap between the spiny trunks without injuring themselves.

Where it grows

The spiny forest of the south-west and south of the island: around Toliara (Atsimo-Andrefana), the Androy region and the western part of Anosy (around Berenty).

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